Sonic cleaning

I've got stainless pins and an old Thumbler B I put a new belt and bushings on just for the purpose. I was just showing what ultrasonic can do, as that was the OP's question.

MWM,

Despite its physical size (2.5 gallons), the frequency and energy density (watts per gallon) of that ultrasonic are probably not particularly different from yours. If I had several grand for one of the high energy density ones designed for gun cleaning, I'd have gone that way some time ago. I really think its the stronger solution I use (forgot to mention a small squirt of Dawn in with it for better wetting), though I should add that it's heated. I don't recall if yours is.

One thing that happens in all ultrasonic cleaners is the brass absorbs some of the energy. I think the makers are optimistic about how much brass you should try to do at once. Try cutting the claimed capacity in half as a starting point.
 
Sorry but I'm kinda anal, like my brass sparkly clean, only use a single stage press. It's all part of the reloading ritual, each round made with TLC. Guess to my way of thinking, not cleaning primer pockets is sorta like washing your pants but not your underwear but that's just me.
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Sounds like you need to get yourself a wet tumbler and stainless steel media. I recently got a Frankfort Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART) and can't believe what the brass looks like when I take it out. Designed from the ground up for brass cleaning, it can hold up to 30lbs of brass/media and it comes with everything you need to start tumbling right out of the box.
 
Well I purchased the Hornady model and tried it out yesterday.
Didn't work, after 20min. all it did was loosen the gunk inside the pocket.
Back to the store today.
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Brutus, you gave up awfully quickly. One try, not happy, and that's it? There are multiple cleaning solutions to use and some work better than others. I don't know what would work best for primer pockets. I assume that the debris in them is more hardened on than powder residue in the case itself. Is this true?

About your single stage press: What do you reload and what kind of shooting do you do? I shoot IDPA and USPSA with a 9mm and I can't imagine not using a progressive press (and I'm retired at that). I firmly believe that the type of shooting that people do and the caliber as well as their personality determine how they reload.
 
Brutus, these testimonials are mostly accurate. I didn't read every word so I may have missed someone suggesting buying an ultra sonic cleaner at Harbor Freight.

HF has a large one, which will do maybe 50 to 75 cases of say 30-06 size and a small one for a handful of cases in 30-06 size; more for smaller cases. Check the HF large cleaner and you will see it is exactly the same as some you buy at Cabela's and other big box stores and, you will pay perhaps $20 fewer for the HF cleaner and there is no shipping unless you are buying on line. The large HF cleaner has a heat feature. Go to the Lyman site and you will see a large cleaner (LymanTurbo 2500) for $110, plus shipping. Go to the HF site and you will see the exact same cleaner for a marked down price of $84 plus shipping. I have never seen the large on in a HF store more than $85. Of course, if you have a HF store near you, there is no shipping.

Here is more good news about the HF cleaner. Theoretically, when you buy one at HF, you would never need to buy another because of their standard 12 month warranty. In the eleventh month, after purchasing, you return it to HF and get a new one - no charge and no questions, even if there is nothing wrong with it. You can purchase an extended warranty. I never buy them.

Think about it.
 
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I bought my ultrasonic cleaner on eBay. It's a 6 liter model with three transducers. it cost between $200 and $300 IIRC. When I first got it I successfully cleaned 1200 9mm cases all at once. I don't do that anymore. I now clean 400-600 at one time using a square stainless steel steam table pan that holds the brass and cleaning solution thus enabling me to just put water in the US itself. I've also cleaned my gun in it using a cleaning solution made for cleaning guns.

The short answer is that they certainly work. They will get the outside and inside of a case clean. They will not make it all that shiny. Anyone that has had trouble with the one they bought or can't clean more than a few cases either is using the wrong or too-weak cleaning solution or has a defective or under powered unit. Mine also has a built in heater, although I always start out with hot water and solution.

At first I tried vinegar and water. Worked OK, but then I tried Hornady's US cleaning solution and found that it got my cases a lot cleaner. I'm still on my first jug of it after over two years. I take the dirty solution and let it sit for a couple of weeks until the dirt settles to the bottom and then syphon off the clean solution. It can be recycle several times, but I have noticed that new solution does clean better, so I use it a couple of times before tossing it. Midway periodically has sales of it for around $14 (down from $21).

To dry my cases I spread them out on a shamwow and run a floor fan at low speed over them for a day or two. If you have enough cases there's really no reason to be in a hurry.
 
Took it back to the store and exchanged it for an RCBS case prep tool.
Now I clean the pocket during the case flaring operation, adds a couple of seconds but does a good job, Sure is a lot quicker than the old modified screw driver trick I was using. I'm always amazed at the pile of residue left behind.
Wouldn't think that much gunk could exist in those itty bitty pockets.
 
I don't agree on primer pocket cleaning being unnecessary. I've experienced, on numerous occasions, poor primer seating due to less than clean primer pockets. That generally opens the door for potential failures IMHO.
 
Not to mention slamfires if the primer isn't fully seated. Besides you wouldn't build a camp fire over a bunch of cow pies, wouldja?:p
 
Not to mention slamfires if the primer isn't fully seated. Besides you wouldn't build a camp fire over a bunch of cow pies, wouldja?

True


I don't agree on primer pocket cleaning being unnecessary. I've experienced, on numerous occasions, poor primer seating due to less than clean primer pockets. That generally opens the door for potential failures IMHO

Yes, this is the problem I had to were I had to just about smash the primer to get flat seating do to the carbon build up. If not, I could never get a good reading with my calipers after bullet seating. The primer would stick out just enough to cause problems.
 
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Well I've pretty much given up on the sonic cleaner option, the case prep tool does a good job, although I've noticed some primers leave much more residue than others ( haven't figured out which does which between Winchester and CCI will be observing that in the future as I have both types). What I have additionally noticed is that it takes a bit more effort to clean some pockets but I don't know if this is once fired factory or reloads as I don't segregate cases.
Will soaking them in citric acid help loosen the residue?
 
For years I was using the media tumbler, just switched to the wet tumbler with the Stainless steel pins. Makes the cases look like new, primer pockets & all. Sonic cleaners I'm shore would be just as good.
 
Brutus,

The acid loosens the priming mix some. I use 5% citric acid and detergent, as I probably mentioned already. That helps. But the older the carbon is the more stubborn it is. It hardens with age. If you deprimed your cases at the range, you'd find a lot of that residue just fell out because it hadn't hardened yet. Board member Hummer70 has experimented with that, as described in this post on another board. So age difference may explain some of what you see. It can also be differences in primer formulations contributing.

The reasons for cleaning primer pockets for rifle include the throat wear contribution mentioned in that post. The other is consistent primer bridge set which helps hold down velocity spread. For handguns it's mainly just that you don't want residue to build up to the point it starts to cushion primer anvil feet and introduce irregular ignition.

One I thing I think is advantageous about the various liquid cleaning methods over dry tumbling or mechanical removal is the water dissolves the hazardous lead compounds in the primer dust rather than letting it float around and settle wherever it will.
 
Hi Brutus,
Just thought I would let you know what I do. Like Unclenick stated, I have hard carbon because my brass can go weeks, or much, much longer before processing. I have never tried wet or sonic cleaning. I will use this after size and deprime.

http://www.21stcenturyshooting.com/Primer_Pocket_Uniformer.php

Just chuck it up in your cordless drill. the nice thing about it is it's depth adjustable. I set it up the 1st time to uniform the pocket. There after it just really cleans the carbon out looking like brand new.
Tony
 
I use the same L&R Ultrasonic on my brass as I use for my antique clock movement cleaning. When working on assemblies like a clock movement you have to disassemble to the smallest component.

If you acquire a ultrasonic then do the following test to see if it works as a ultrasonic should perform. Fill your ultrasonic with the cleaning recipe you will be using or even with water. Then take a piece of aluminum foil and hold it straight down, vertical, in the cleaning liquid or water with the ultrasonic on. Use a pair of pliers or tweezers to hold the foil. Hold it there for a couple of minutes. When you remove the foil it should have thousands of tiny indentures or holes in the foil. This shows your ultrasonic is working properly.

My ultrasonic has heat, and I do believe this helps with cleaning.
 
I've vibed, ulta-sonic'd and wet tumbled. Ultrasonic works well with citric acid. I bought 10 pounds of organic, anhydrous citric acid on Amazon. It was a lot cheaper than using lemi-shine or using commercial brass cleaning solutions.

I used 15-20% citric acid (by weight). I mixed up a few gallons and re-used the stuff after the dirt settled out to the bottom of the bucket. I kept using the same batch until it either stopped working or it got moldy. THe stronger solution worked faster than a weaker "one-shot" solution.

I got a Thumbler and SS pins for my last birthday and that's quicker and more thorough. If I started all over again I'd go right to that method. I still use the vibe for polishing "only". I never vibe dirty stuff anymore. I don't want to put any lead dust in the air or in my work area.
 
5% citric acid is the old (when it was still a government arsenal) Frankford arsenal brass cleaning formula. Approximately 7 ounces added to a gallon of water. Works well. Until recently, the least expensive source of food grade citric acid crystals that I'd found is here. $25 for 10 lbs with shipping included. However, one Amazon vendor now has the same offer less $0.45. The first one, Duda Diesel, was very prompt to ship in a USPS fixed rate box. Took less than a week. I have no experience with Dafna, the Amazon vendor, so I don't know how they compare on that score.
 
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